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HORACE A. CASTLE, 0F ILION, NEW YORK.

IIMPRVEMENT IN BREECH=LADING FIREHARMS.

Speciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. Iiq, dated September 26, 1.876; application tiled May 5, 1876.

To all whom it ma/y concern:

Be it known that I, HORACE A. CASTLE, of Ilion, in the county of Herkimer and AState of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fire-Arms, which improvements are fully set forth in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side View of myimproved gun. Fig. 2 is atop viewof the same, illustrating its operation. Fig. 3 is a view of the side opposite that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 shows the operating parts in the breech-frame of my improved gun, the covering metal being broken away. Fig. 5 is a vertical central section in the line y y of Fig. 2 of a part of the breech-frame, the barrels,'the hammer, retractor, and firing-pins. Fig. 6 is a vertical central section of the hammer, showing its changeable face-piece turned out of action. Fig.7 is a horizontal central section in the line z z of Fig. 1 of a part'ofthe breechframe and barrels, illustrating the movement ofthe retractor. Fig..8 is Vertical transverse section in the line :c a: a: of Figs. 4. and 5, through the breech, showing the mode of locking and unlocking the horizontal swinging barrels.

lhe nature of my invention consists in certain constructions, combinations, and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described and specically claimed, whereby an improved balanced doublebarrel gun of very Asimple construction, great strength, and very easy of manipulation is produced.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents a rifle-barrel, and B a shot-barrel, both united near the breech by side laps or braces C C1. The said barrels A and B are fastened one on top of the other, and are on one side provided with a vertical pivotpin, D, by which they are united to an arm, E, of the breech-frame F. The arm E is so shaped as to form 'the continuation of the short brace O1 toward the breech. The arm E and the brace U1 are fitted together in the form of a knucklejoint, so as to present a smooth surface when the barrels are in their normal position. Be-

tween the said barrels a retractor, consisting of a stepped head, G, and a shank, g, is in serted, whereby the cartridges of both barrels are removed. 1

The arm E is'provide'd with a cam-heel, e, whereby it pushes the shank g of the rctractor G backward, when the barrels A B are swung od' the breech F1 for reloading, as seen in Fig. 2. The brace() extends to the breech, and there terminates iu a horizontal wedge, U2, with a'neck, c', in which is a vertical hole, c1. The said wedge U2 is fitted into the side ot' the breech F1, and there secured by a vertical bolt, H, which is fitted into the said breech and thus prevents the barrels from moving. The bolt H is provided with anotch, h, into which the end of a lever, I, extends, which is fulcrumcd at t, and at its other end is provided with a push-knob, I,"hinged at t. The push-knob I' is tted into a removable side piece, F2, ot' the breech-frame, which also carries the fulcrum and a spring, t2, for holding the pushfknob I up and the bolt H down, so that by removing the said side piece the lever I, the spring tz, and the push-knob I are also removed; or, in other words, the locking mechanism of the barrel is removed, and the hammer K may be slipped ofi' its pin 7a. The said side piece forms the side bearing of the hammer, and is fastened to the breech-frame in the usual manner by screws.

The bolt H has an inclined surface, h', at the lower end, and the wedge (.l2 has a corresponding inclined surface, o, as seen in Fig. 8, where.

' by the bolt H may be lifted, when the wedge Cs pressed into its place by hand.l flhe hammer K is, as usual, provided with a springlink, k', and a trigger, L, but it has two concussion-faces for the firing-pins M of the barreis A B. One of the said concussion-faces, K1, is rigid, and the other one, K2, forms a part of a movable dog,.N, pivoted to the hammer at n.. The dog N is provided with a spur, nl, for cocking the hammer, and at its back with two notchesnt2 n, for steadying it in two distinct positions by means of a lever-catch, O,pivoted to the hammer at o.v The said catch has a tooth, o, fitting the notches a a3 very accurately, so that the concussioniaceli2 is in a vertical position, and directly opposite lthe upper ring-pin M, when the. toothc' 0f the catch O is in the notch a2 ot'- the dog N, as seen in Fig. 5. When the said tooth o is in the notch a, the concussion-face K is turned up and out ot' the way ot' the upper iiring'pin M and the concussion-face K1, whieh,in the former case, was kept at a distance from the lower firing-pin M, is now permitted to act upon the saine, as Fig. a plainly shows'.

The dog N and the catch O are kept in their positions by a spring, l, which is t'astf cned to the hammer, and bears on the knob end of the lever I with one of its ends, p. The.

other end of the spring I is bent concentric with the lower bearing ot the dog, and has two operating-surfaces, p1 p2, which operate alternately upon the faces at a5 ot' the dog N, and thereby prevent the dog and the catch from getting 'separated by accident.

The 'spring Sget' the hammer and the spring T of the trigger are ot' common construction, and need no speciali description.

The iiring-pinsvM lare inserted into the breech Il, and each is'pro'vided with a shoulder, m, against which aisi-tring, m1, bears, thereby pressing it against the guide-plug m2, which is screwed into thebreech. The for- Ward ends ot' the firing-pins M are kept flush with the breech-'face by the spring m1 and plugs m2. A horizontal projection, f, at the lower forward end ot' the breech, serves as a vsupport for the barrels when locked, and relieves the wedge G2 from the strain ot' their weight.

Operation: Forthe purpose of loading the' gun the hammer is set at halfcock, and the knob I is pressed dwn, thus causing the lever I to move the bolt II up and-out ot' the hole el in the wedge G2, which is now unlocked. The barrels A B are now swung laterally ott' the breech F1, as shown in full black linesi'n Fig. 2. Said movement causes lthe shank g of the retractor G to be pushed back by the eccentric surface of the camheel c ot' the arm E, and thereby the empty cartridges to be pushed out of the barrels A. B. Fresh cartridges are now inserted and the barrels are swungback to their tiring position. The wedge end (J2 ot' the barrel-support, being pressed luto its place by this action, pushes the bolt H up by means of the inclined surfaces h1 02, and being afterward moved down again into the hole cl by the pressure ot' the spring i2 upon the lever I the gun-barrels are locked.

It the rifle-barrel A is to be used first, and the hammer is not arranged accordingly, as

. lseen in Figs. 4 and 6, the catch-lever O is atits free end depressed, Awhereby the tooth o 1s removed from its notch n. rlhe dog N is now turned down until the tooth o enters the .notch n2, when it is ready, as Fig. 5 repre-- sents it.

For discharging the ride, the hammer is drawn back to the second rest, and the trigger L pulled. The hammer K in its descent strikes the upper firing-pin M with thesurface K2 without touching the lower firing-pin, because the concussion-surface K2 leaves the rigid concussion-surface K1 at a suiiioient distance behind.

For the purpose ot' discharging the, short barrel the tooth 01 is in the above-described manner removed from the notch a2, andi permitted to enter the notch ai of the dog N, thereby throwing the concussion-surface K2 up and out of the way ot' the upper tiring-pin. The concmision-lat-.e K1 is thereby enabled to move farther forward and strike the lower tiring-pin M, when 'the shot-barrel is to be discharged. Y

For the purpose et' lillustrating my invention in the most conspicuous nia-nner, I have shown a heavy rifle-barrel and a much lighter shot-barrel placed in the same vertical plane, and itis evident that two barrels of this description arranged horizontally, as is uuiversally done, would, by the unequal distribution ot' weight right and left ot' the center line of the gun, give constant annoyance to the operator. 'lhe vertical arrangement ofthe barrels enables me to make a balanced doublebarrelcd gun under all circumstances.

I do not, however, intcndto make only guns -ot' the above description, but I can and will adopt the vertical arrangement with guns having barrels of any description. Two shotbarrels or two ride-barrels, for instance, ei-

thor breech-loading or muzzle-loading, and arranged vertically upon the stock, oil'er nearly the saine advantages as the special plan described.

Another advantage ot' my construction is this, that the operator is enabled to lire both barrels in quicker succession, on account of the fact that there will be only one sight for taking aim, and he need not make but the slightest, it' any, change in his position, or that of the gun, if directly after discharging one barrel he wants to discharge the other.

The recoil of this gun has the same direction in each barrel, and the Vchances for' missing on account of the side thrust ot` a barrel of the horizontal arrangement, c aused by unccntrical recoil., are in my vertical arrangement entirely obviated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is l. A double-'barrel gun, having two vertically-arranged and united barrels, which are attached to the breech or stock by means of a vertical pivot-pin, arranged on one side-of the barrels, lsubstantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a gun with two vertically-arranged barrels, the combination ot' the horizontal arm E, .the -vertical pivot-pin D, the cam-heel e, and. the retractor Gr, constructed and operatin g substantially as set forth.

3. In abreech-loading gun with horizontally-swinging double barrels, the combination of the breech F1, arm E, pin D, the braces C G1, the wedge .02, the bolt H, the lever I, and the springt?, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

' regate@ s 4. trhe'breeh or stock fora ambie-barrel gun, constructed with a bottom and sidesupports for the barrels, and with a hiuging' side Y f lug for the vertical pivot-pin of the hinge on which the barrels swing horizontally, to pass through, substantially as'and. for the purpose described.- l 1 5. The hammer K and. K1, slotted at its top, 

